http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/blog.php Come and discuss the greatest gaming of all time from Atari to Nintendo. en Thu, 17 May 2012 05:12:12 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/blog.php http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?600-BJWanlund-s-Personal-RetroN3-Compatibility-List Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:22:46 GMT All games below are tested as working unless otherwise specified below. Keep in mind this is only the games I have at my disposal. NES: Bases... All games below are tested as working unless otherwise specified below. Keep in mind this is only the games I have at my disposal.

NES:
Bases Loaded 3
M.C. Kids
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
The Little Mermaid

SNES:
Super Game Boy (yes Virginia, it works!!)

Genesis:
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (sound seems VERY quiet on this one, and it seems to only be this one, the other games on the Genesis list work just fine)
Quackshot Starring Donald Duck
Sonic the Hedgehog ]]> BJWanlund http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?600-BJWanlund-s-Personal-RetroN3-Compatibility-List http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?599-3ds-ui Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:11:34 GMT This is my first videoblog on the 3DS. I really gave a rundown of the menu. However, there are stuff I am not familiar since its in Japanese on... This is my first videoblog on the 3DS. I really gave a rundown of the menu. However, there are stuff I am not familiar since its in Japanese on the 3DS shop or the spotpass thing. Since the 3DS is quite new in the market and hasn't been in mass market yet. I doubt the spotpass or the street pass feature will be in use yet.

If there are request on what parts of the 3ds I can go into further detail post away on the 3ds thread on the forum or here.

I did demo Super Street Fighter IV on here and showed more info on the 3d slider.

]]> moko http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?599-3ds-ui http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?598-3ds-the-layout Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:37:19 GMT This part of the blog will discuss about the physical layout of the 3ds. Again, I will make comparisons to the DS Phat from time to time (since at... This part of the blog will discuss about the physical layout of the 3ds. Again, I will make comparisons to the DS Phat from time to time (since at one time everyone here has owned the Phat one!)

The top panel of the 3ds and the ds phat is pretty much the same except they switched the stylus to the left of the cart instead of the right where the DS phat is located. Also the AC power is on the right of the cart on the 3ds while the DS phat its on the left. On the 3ds just left of the stylus is an infrared. Since no apps have used it I wonder what's its for?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60006258@N04/5491959392/


In closer inspection on the trigger buttons between the phat and the 3ds you noticed there is considerable size difference:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60006258@N04/5492021888/

On the 3ds you will also notice there is a camera icon labled on the L and R buttons and they also serve to take pictures. If you read my comments on the photo, you will notice the 3ds trigger buttons are small, thin and metallic. They aren't plastic like the DS phat. I personally prefer the Phat trigger buttons over the 3ds.

The left panel only has the volume slider and the SD card slot. To increase volume slide it up to decrease volume slide it down. To mute slide it all the way down. The SD card slot opens exactly like the PSP memory stick. You have to pull out the plastic tab in order put in the SD card. To insert the SD card you need to face the SD label down and insert in unlike what you are used to insert the SD label up and in.

Photo of left panel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60006258@N04/5491959398/

The bottom panel is the headphone jack at the center and the power light button on the right. When the 3ds power is on, it turns blue seen pic below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60006258@N04/5491400499/

The right panel is the wireless switch. You push it up it turns it on, push it up again it shutsdown the wi-fi. You will know if your wi-fi is turned on when the flickering orange light occurs just above the switch.
Photo of the right panel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60006258@N04/5491400591/

A word of caution: Your 3ds is a dust magnet. Remember when the PSP was released people had to use a cloth to clean off the fingerprints from the unit? Be sure to have a cloth to wipe the screens for your 3ds.

In my next blog, I will discuss the 3ds user interface ]]> moko http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?598-3ds-the-layout http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?597-The-3DS-the-camera Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:31:18 GMT Ah, the 3DS. What can I say? There are many things to say about it. First of all I guess I can start with the camera aspect of the 3ds. When you take... Ah, the 3DS. What can I say? There are many things to say about it. First of all I guess I can start with the camera aspect of the 3ds. When you take pictures, you can use the 3d slider to take pictures in 3d view or in 2d. You can use the trigger buttons (L or R) buttons to take pictures. All pictures are stored in the DCIM directory of the SD card. It can be viewed on your PC. The other neat feature about the camera you can take picture in front you facing the 3ds (but that is a single camera can only take in 2d will the cover camers there are 2 of them can take pictures in 3d. All 3 cameras have zoom in/out and a timer function for taking pictures. The 3ds is almost a full-fledge digital camera except its missing a flash.

To access the camera on the 3ds simply press the Home button at the bottom and press the camera icon ]]> moko http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?597-The-3DS-the-camera http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?590-Sonic-the-Hedgehog-music Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:22:26 GMT One of my favorite all time videogame music came from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Particularly, most of my favorite music came from Sonic the... One of my favorite all time videogame music came from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Particularly, most of my favorite music came from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, while Sonic 3 and Sonic CD came in close 2nd place.

Metropolis zone theme music:


I liked song because of the record sratch at the beginning tune was way cool!

Chemical Plant theme music:


Hill Top Zone theme music:


There were only a couple songs from Sonic 3, I liked:

Marble Garden zone:


Launch base zone had a pretty cool effect when you could here the record scratch saying "Go!". In my opinion this was impressive for Genesis audio processor to do.



There were a couple of songs off Sonic CD that also caught my attention. More of your move to the beat tunes.

Stardust Speedway (bad future)


Wacky Workbench (past)


One of the music in the Sonic series that had singing was from Sonic R was "Can you feel the sunshine?"


I have to admit after the Sonic R (though it was a mediocre racer) release there hasn't been really any good or memorable music from Sega since.

Oh I forgot just to round it off with Sonic 1 music, the only preference I had was the theme from Labyrinth Zone:
]]> moko http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?590-Sonic-the-Hedgehog-music http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?589-Things-on-My-Mind-The-Diner-Life Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:06:03 GMT First of all, I feel the need to address my audience. Judging by the fact that I have over 1100 views and 0 comments on my last blog, I'm going to have to conclude that my audience consists of 1095 internet bots and probably 5 people who know me in real life and are spying on me. To the people who know me in real life, you're creeping me out by silently watching me! To my internet bot fans, I have no idea what you're reading my blog for, I have yet to mention anything about "Nike" or "Cheap Perfume". To anyone else, say something, this is getting creepy!

Okay now, on with it...

I went to a diner some time ago with my wife and I made a mental note of the entire experience. It got me thinking about what the quintessential diner experience looks like. So without further ado, here it is....The Diner Life (and the thing with the coffee actually happened to me)

The Diner Life

My wife and I decided to have a "breakfast for dinner" night. Our house has several diners nearby, so we figured we'd try one. Now, diners themselves are magical places to begin with...going to "The Liberty Diner" reminded me about what makes a diner great. The following are things I noticed, things that are integral to any good diner experience.

(1) The building in which the diner is housed should have some sort of metallic facade. If it does not have a metallic facade, then it must have some sort of unclean looking facade. It doesn't hurt for the diner to have an awfully plain name, outlined in neon lights, with 50's style font.

(2) When you walk in, various local newspapers should be stacked by the door (all of which should be free). There also needs to be some sort of machine that charges 25 cents for stickers, some outdated arcade machine like "Golden Tee '94", and some sort of prize machine that begs you to work a barely responsive mechanical arm (if only all your work gets you is a poorly-stitched mouse wearing a cowboy hat). It is imperative that the mechanical arm never respond properly to your manipulation of the controls.

(3) When you walk into the waiting area itself, one of the two following people should approach you. The first person fits this description: a woman with a budding mullet who stoically greets you without a smile. The second person fits this description: some guy with zits (or pock marks), slicked back greasy hair, and a bad shirt and tie. One of these people (or, joy of all joys if you are lucky enough, BOTH of them) will direct you to your table.

(4) Upon arriving at your table, the following things must be noted:

*(a) the table must show very recent signs that someone ate*a meal there, and that one of the waiters used a wet rag to half-assedly wipe down part of the table. This creates a homey atmosphere of a damp table with pieces of scrambled egg littered around the surface of the table. Oh, and this is important...you MUST immediately rest your forearm in an unforeseen patch of syrup.

(b) you must be seated at a booth that is lined with some sort of artificial cushy material. The seats will, of course, have pieces of food lying about.

(c) you should have place mats on the table in front of you. Please make note of these fine works of art. They need to feature 3" by 5" squares, each advertising some unheard of local business that you will never want to pay a visit to. The businesses should consist of tractor supplies, hairdressers, and assorted line dancing classes. This is a prime example of white trash synergy.

(d) the silverware sitting at the side of your place mat will be, errr, not quite silver. Actually, they should be silver enough that you can tell they may have once been silver, but are now just pieces of metal with soap residue fermenting on the surface.* Take note of the napkin dispenser on your table, spring-loaded with napkins and housed in a reflective silver container covered in greasy fingerprints.* Imagine all the people who have touched it before you.* At some point in your meal, you will touch it yourself.* And then you'll touch your mouth.

(e) a glance around should at least yield a 50's style jukebox, with artists ranging from "Journey" to "Chicago".* Don't expect to be rockin' out to "The Glory of Love" though, since the jukebox won't work.* Prepare to reach a*new low in your life as you approach a lard-covered employee behind the counter and complain about how the machine took your quarters.

(5) Now here comes a real highlight...interaction with an ACTUAL DINER WAITRESS. You must prefer your server to be a waitress instead of a waiter, since the waiter will be less likely to provide the ultimate diner service experience. Your waitress must look like the truck-driving psycho ghost from "Pee Wees Big Adventure". If she doesn't cackle, tell you her life story, or blow cigarette smoke in your face while ordering, then you are in the wrong place. She'll ask you what you would like to have to drink. This is a diner, so for God's sake man get yourself some COFFEE. The waitress will hand you your menu as she walks away.

(6) Ah, the diner menu...a work of art unto itself! General rule about diner menus is that you need to find where it says "Breakfast served all day". If they don't serve breakfast all day, get the hell outta there, NOW. Sure, there are many items on the menu, but they are just there for looks. You would have to be mad to order beef wellington, Salisbury steak, or ANYTHING else other than breakfast. It is always a plus when the menu features actual pictures of some of the dinner meals, that way you can see that they look more like one of those fake Fisher Price rubber food sets than anything you want to digest. As the waitress returns to the table, she will be holding a saucer with your coffee cup sitting at an awkward angle. She must then plop the saucer down on the table, causing your java to run down all sides of your mug, filling your saucer with a small puddle. Cue the waitress to say something classy like "that's what saucers are for" as she inhales a puff of smoke, coyly releases it from the side of her mouth, and then quickly licks the questionable mole hiding under*her thin layer of chin hair. The waitress then will pull out a dollar store notepad and ask for your order. When you find that wonderful breakfast section on the menu, order some pancakes (if they are called "flapjacks", you have hit pay dirt) and some hash browns.

(7) Now that the waitress is gone and you have some downtime, you will eagerly anticipate that first sip of coffee. Take note, your coffee mug will be off-white in color, and will also have tiny pieces of food plastered to the sides from the wonderfully inefficient dishwasher in the fully visible kitchen. Bringing the cup to your lips, you will hopefully taste the most revolting coffee of your life. Your entire face will slowly contort in an almost irreversible look of disgust. The coffee itself will be lukewarm and will taste like it has been cooking in a mostly empty pot all day. Notice that your eyebrows are clenched inwards, your mouth stuck in a slight frown, and your back will shiver intermittently. You will need a few minutes to actually change your face back to it's normal position. At a near gag, you will slowly place the coffee mug back in the flooded saucer.

(8) In no time though, your waitress will bring you your flapjacks and hash browns. This will not be your immediate concern however, you will quickly inquire about the coffee. The conversation will go something like this:

YOU: is it possible to get another cup of coffee? This one tastes...

WAITRESS: (interrupting) Old? Heehee, I know, we try to make the pot last as long as we can, we serve it until people start complaining, I'll get you a fresh cup.
Relish this moment...it is diner nirvana. Turning now to your flapjacks and hash browns, you'll see they don't look too bad! See, I told you not to get any dinner meats. Its pretty hard to screw up pancakes and hash browns. The hash browns, ideally, will be a twisted pile of mush with obviously unstirred butter slowly sinking through them. If God is smiling down on you, your flapjacks will come with some sort of no-name, generic brand syrup. Awww hell, let's just hope for the best and hope all it says on there is "syrup". It's a total bonus if said syrup pack has some never before heard of mascot character on it...like an elf leaning on a maple tree or something. Those are always the best. Also acceptable is if your meal comes with a little "syrup rack", stocked with unlabeled and unbranded syrup. Pour that syrup on your flapjacks and before your eyes your flapjacks will hopefully do too good a job of soaking in the syrup. This results in instantly mushy pancakes. Your now fresh coffee will arrive just in time for you to take your last bite of hash browns. If the coffee is good enough, feel free to linger for hours at the diner drinking cup after cup and pondering why everyone there is white.

(9) When you are finished your meal, the waitress will lay the "check" on the table and will mutter something like "thanks sweetie" or "come back again sugar". Pray that the bill the waitress gives you is just random scribbling on the back of a coupon with your total written at the bottom.* As you pay your bill and exit the diner, try not to pay any attention to the impending digestive explosion that is about to occur.

God I love diners. ]]> Chris http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?589-Things-on-My-Mind-The-Diner-Life http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?583-Things-On-My-Mind-Tissue-Dispensers-Cookies Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:41:40 GMT Paper Towel Dispensers

It used to be that when you'd go into a public bathroom, you could do your business, wash your hands, and use as many paper towels as you needed to dry your hands off afterward. In the past few years though, I've noticed more and more of those electronic paper towel dispensers creeping into public bathrooms. These are the little devices that require you to wave your hand in front of it before it will dispense a paper towel. Now you know, the first time I saw one of these, I just knew that I was somehow going to be screwed over by the presence of this new device. Sure enough, not only do they sometimes not even recognize my hand waving, but when it does it spits out a paper towel the size of a doily about two seconds after I asked it to. This leads to me having to wave my hand in front of the thing about 5 more times so I can get what I deem to be the proper amount of paper towels for drying my hands off.

I fully realize that my hatred for this device could be the fact that it doesn't meet my standards in this "get what I want, when I want, NOW" society we live in. But if we forget about that for a second, we can focus on the fact that these new dispensers create more opportunities for the occurrence of a special type of problem: "faux pee spots on khaki's". This is much more a problem for men than it is for women. See ladies, what happens to us guys wearing khaki's is that we wash our hands (hopefully) and then we need to get our dripping wet hands from the sink to the paper towels. This is a delicate process, for one false move could send a wayward drop of water dangerously close to the front of our khaki's. That drop of water creates a wet spot that gives the appearance of a man who was so in a hurry that he peed his pants a little on the way out of the restroom. The repeated motions needed for these new dispensers increase the risk of sending water droplets everywhere!

I know that some guys don't care about this, but I frankly do care whether or not people believe I peed in my pants a little. If I get a spot like that on my pants, I have to walk out of the restroom like that and hope it air dries pronto. In the meantime, anyone who sees it (and in my mind, that is everybody) requires a special disclaimer from me explaining that I in fact do NOT have pee on my pants. Now that's what they call an icebreaker.

Coooookies

Well here we go again with the political correctness folks. Recently, there was a news story about some expert who wanted Santa to “slim down” because he was setting a “bad example” for kids by being fat. First of all, let me say a few things about all these egotistical “experts” we have. Based on my personal and professional experience with “experts”, I’m convinced that the only thing standing between Larry the Cable Guy and a Masters or Doctorate degree is enough money to pay the right clown college for a piece of paper that you can hang on your wall to make you feel good about what you’ve “accomplished” and make you feel entitled to dole out 10-cent advice on subjects you mainly recall from a textbook. Listen, first of all, Santa Claus has always been fat and he’s lived for hundreds of years as a fat man. Its part of his freakin’ image, leave him alone! Secondly, I cannot remember one instance as a child where I saw Santa and said to myself “Santa’s so fat, I wish I could be fat one day!”

Here’s the thing some adults and “experts” don’t get: kids don’t think like adults. When you’re a kid, Santa is the guy that slightly intimidates you but that you tolerate on account of the fact that your parents encourage it and the guy brings you loads of gifts every year at the same time. It may come as a shock, but kids don’t spend a whole lot of time considering how clogged his arteries might be, what his body mass index is, or whether his rosy cheeks are a sign of elevated blood pressure.

Next thing you know they’ll be prying the Coke bottle out of his hands and replacing it with some “environmentally friendly” bottled water. No? How about banning him from entering your house through the chimney. Didn’t you know that the fabric in his suit combined with the lining in the chimney emits a chemical that drowns polar bears?
It reminds me of what they tried to do to Cookie Monster. Remember that whole thing about “experts” advising that “a cookie is a sometimes food”? When I finally saw that sketch where Cookie Monster chose fruit over cookies, I wanted to puke. So I guess instead of asking parents to do their jobs and limit their kids cookie intake, they feel the need to change the rate at which Cookie Monster eats cookies? Hey, I’m not an expert on Cookie Monster, but when he starts preferring fruit to cookies, he suddenly finds himself completely at odds with his own identity. He’s always been a guy with a seriously unhealthy penchant for eating cookies and anything that gets in his way and (watch this) we like him that way.

My advice for the “experts” is to spend a little more time having fun in life and a little less time desperately clinging to an identity whose sole survival is dependent on an endless need for professional validation at the expense of all that is innocent. Good for you, you have a piece of paper on your wall. What do you want, a cookie? Oops. ]]> Chris http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?583-Things-On-My-Mind-Tissue-Dispensers-Cookies http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?582-Things-on-My-Mind-Parking-Spaces-This-Time-Next-Year Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:51:12 GMT *Parking Spaces* Many a passenger in my car has taken issue with the way I find parking spaces. The issue here is not so much in how I park, but... Parking Spaces

Many a passenger in my car has taken issue with the way I find parking spaces. The issue here is not so much in how I park, but rather that I don't have any problem with walking ¼ of a mile from my car to a shopping center. They would rather have me drive around the busy parking lot for 5-10 minutes searching for "the closest spot to the store" and therefore "the least amount of distance to walk to get to the store". What is with that?

I like to think of myself as a realist. By taking one of the spots at the back of the parking lot, I'm saving myself and the passengers in my car from having to deal with the following scenarios that you know will happen every time you are driving around a busy shopping center. I'm trying not to become:

A. "The Cow Catcher"

This is where you find yourself unable to get a parking space and your car ends up in highly concentrated areas of people right at the front of the store. These are grandmothers, soccer moms, priests, and lost dogs that will all be crossing your path as you try to slowly weave your metal death machine around them without incident. And all people expect you not to drive at all, they'll just keep walking in front of you.

B. "The Stake Out"

In this scenario, you find yourself playing an unnecessary guessing game about the intentions of people who are walking in the parking lot. You follow them through the lot, only to see them cut through to their car that is a few rows down from where you are. Not only does this scenario make you appear creepy, it also causes you to drive way to fast in the parking lot to try to catch up with said target.

C. "Sloppy Seconds"

In this scenario, not only are you driving around looking for a space, you've got 2-3 other people in front of you. This means you're going to get the third available space! You also have to watch helplessly as the people in front of you wait for the departing car (which takes its good old time) to pull out of the space and leave. This is the most gut-wrenching of the bunch, especially when in close quarter parking garages.

Oh, and by the way. While others are toiling with the above scenarios, I've at least already spent a great deal of time in the store they are trying to park closest to.

This Time Next Year

Every year when I take down the Christmas tree, it is a bittersweet affair. On one hand, I'm ready for the house to get back to normal. On the other hand, I'm boxing up my favorite ornaments and little Dickens houses and I will not see them for another year. As I wrap each ornament up and shut the lid on it, I can't help but think who I will be when I set eyes upon that ornament again. What will be my worries? What will my daughters look like in a year? Will I have gained new friends that I currently do not know? Will I have lost friends? Will I be fatter or thinner? Will I have watched in horror as another terror attack occurred? Will I be closer to God? Who will be on my friends list? Geez, look at how I take things for granted, will I still even be alive??

I know, it's morbid, but it needs to be considered. Nothing pauses time better than to think about your own mortality. My friend Richard was murdered 7 years ago this week. Sadly, he put away his ornaments for good. But we cannot get so swept up in what might be, that we miss what is.

It just makes me wonder about this time next year. When I open the box that I just shut tonight, what kind of person will I be? ]]> Chris http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?582-Things-on-My-Mind-Parking-Spaces-This-Time-Next-Year http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?522-Blast-from-the-Past-KOTOR-2-TSLRCM Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:20:08 GMT Now, I know what you might be thinking: KOTOR 1 was brilliant and KOTOR 2 was a totally confused clusterf*** with very little (if any) coherence to... Now, I know what you might be thinking: KOTOR 1 was brilliant and KOTOR 2 was a totally confused clusterf*** with very little (if any) coherence to the storyline (wait a minute--there was a storyline?). And I'd have to agree with you 100%. However, all is not lost in Mudville as a dedicated group of gamers has put together a project to restore content that existed in the game's files but didn't didn't make it into the game proper (I blame Obsidian, they were in a hurry to cash in on the reflected glory of BioWare's original KOTOR--the greedy f***s).

I am, of course, speaking of The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (hereafter known as TSLRCM) for KOTOR 2. And all I can say is "Wow!". They really have done an excellent job with this mod, and we finally have a hint at what KOTOR 2 was supposed to be like.

Having played through about halfway the TSLRCM (playing Light Side), I can say that while not as strong as KOTOR 1 was, it's still a worthy successor. We finally have a storyline and continuity!

Ob link: http://deadlystream.com/forum/

Note that there is a download link on that forum, but you have to register to be able to actually download the mod. Sucks, but definitely worth the price of admission. :) ]]> Shamus http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?522-Blast-from-the-Past-KOTOR-2-TSLRCM http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?310-The-Lessons-Learned-From-the-recent-GOG-com-Shutdown Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:41:18 GMT One of the things I've been reading on the Internet recently, not just in forums, but in blog & YouTube comments that is just irritating the fire out of me is this: "We can no longer trust GOG.com with our money because of this."

Seriously, people. You are tech-savvy geeks, and you cannot back up your DRM-free GOG.com executables, to a CD, a DVD, or otherwise, to save your life?!?! The hypocrisy contained therein is absolutely irritating to me, because not only do you HAVE executables from a service that is absolutely FREE of DRM, AND you don't have a single excuse for backing up what you've bought, BECAUSE there's no DRM, and BECAUSE there's no DRM, and you can redownload those files ANY TIME YOU WANT, certainly DOES NOT MEAN that you reserve the right to not have everything backed up.

Seriously, I'm so irritated by this that I am going to practice what I preach. When GOG.com comes back up tomorrow morning, please, for God's sake, BACK UP, BACK UP, BACK UP.

However, I do agree with the negative Nancys on one thing: The idiot who thought that this was a good idea should either be fired, or at the very least flogged in public, for the YouTube channel or similar.

I know I will be seriously considering getting 3 different copies, 2 different places, and 1 off-site backup at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Seriously, folks, this is nothing. Just learn your lessons, swallow your pride, sit down, and SHUT UP!

(Sorry if this seems angry, BECAUSE IT IS. I cannot sit back any longer and listen to the rantings and wailings of people who didn't back up their precious data, because they will soon forget about it, keep buying their games from GOG.com, and wail, rant, and moan the NEXT time that GOG.com goes down.) ]]> BJWanlund http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?310-The-Lessons-Learned-From-the-recent-GOG-com-Shutdown http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?309-Top-30-Classic-Game-Tracks-01-Donkey-Kong-Country-(SNES)-Aquatic-Ambience Mon, 20 Sep 2010 06:49:40 GMT It is often said that the sound of the ocean is a source of great comfort. The movement of gently lapping waves presumably provides a sense of... It is often said that the sound of the ocean is a source of great comfort. The movement of gently lapping waves presumably provides a sense of serenity for some. It always just sounds like water to me. Perhaps I have spent too long playing video games because for me serenity and water don't go hand in hand. Water based gaming is usually just infuriating. Ecco the dolphin is one notable example that springs to mind.

It is also said that there has to be an exception to prove the rule. If that’s the case then Aquatic Ambience from Donkey Kong Country is that exception. The original DKC drew a lot of attention when it was released thanks to its use of pre-rendered 3D graphics. The game was so successful, in large part due to the graphics, that it enabled Nintendo to extend the 16-bit generation well into 1996. The obsession with DKC's pre-rendered graphics is unfortunate though, as the standout feature of the DKC series is, in my opinion, its music. David Wise truly made the SNES sound chip sing and managed to produce a dizzying array of excellent tracks throughout the short series. Jungle Groove, Stickerbrush Symphony, Hot Head Bop and Mining Melancholy, to name but a few, could have all claimed the top spot on this list. Aquatic Ambience ultimately got the nod due to its ability to make a video game water level feel serene, something I never thought possible.

Constructing a list of your personal favourite music tracks, or any list for that matter, is never easy and is ultimately futile. It was only after I completed this list that I realised that I omitted one of my favourite 8-bit soundtracks entirely, the Master System's magnum opus Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon's Trap. If I was to do this list again in a year's time, or even a year ago, I'm sure I would have produced something entirely different. For a start I'd like to think I wouldn't forget Wonder Boy 3 again. The one thing I don't see changing though is the inclusion of a track from the DKC trilogy at the top of the list. It was actually because of the DKC trilogy that I decided to limit each franchise to one entry; otherwise the list would have been better titled "The Best Tracks from the DKC Trilogy and Friends".


Aquatic Ambience

Finally, here are some Wonder Boy 3 tracks that should have been considered for this list.


Monster Lair

Side Crawler's Dance ]]> meu2 http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?309-Top-30-Classic-Game-Tracks-01-Donkey-Kong-Country-(SNES)-Aquatic-Ambience http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?293-Review-Dementium-II Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:29:28 GMT Let me start off by saying sorry for ditching out on everyone, my life went from being busy as hell to calm to busy and right on back to calm a few... Let me start off by saying sorry for ditching out on everyone, my life went from being busy as hell to calm to busy and right on back to calm a few times, but now that I have everything (sort of) figured out for the next two years and I can finally sit down and get back into a community worth my time (that's you guys).
On with the review!

If you have been keeping up with the development team Renegade Kid than you either love or hate them. I have to lean towards love because they are the strongest DS FPS producers at this time. And although the DS isn't the greatest for FPS games it still gets the job done.

Dementium II is obviously the sequel to Dementium: The Ward. I for one could not finish the first Dementium because of the horrible save points, but I did love the spooky feeling accompanied by an interestingly eerie storyline and its better than decent controls. So when I saw that Renegade Kid was working on a sequel I followed it like a stalker.

Dementium II starts you out in a prison hospital and you end up in a prison cell, the next thing you know you're calling up your drug dealer and asking him what kind of shrooms he just sold you because you're tripping balls, and there are demons, and they want to kill you, along with this demons there is a voice in your head that keeps coming and going and keeps interrupting the spookiest music I've heard in a game for a long while.

Once you stop tripping you realize that you probably accidentally just killed a few security guards.. And their co-workers want revenge.. You're as my friends would say "Freaking out, man." This is where the story starts to kick in, however one has to start asking "Is this really a storyline, because I just keep finding questions in response to more questions." But I promise you, it pulls together.. Kind of..

Dementium is simple, you see something, you kill it. And if you are anything like me than you won't have a problem with this breath of ancient air. If you are a fan of Doom, Quake or even Half-Life than you will probably enjoy this game. It isn't a technical masterpiece, but it's petty damn impressive for being on the DS.
You might as well pick up this game, it's fun to show people, it's fun to play, it's addicting and even if your finger does start to go numb you won't be disappointed in this game because at the end of the day if it isn't the best thing you ever play at least it's only like 20 bucks.

]]> Fletcher http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?293-Review-Dementium-II http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?262-ESRB-Wtf Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:27:11 GMT Growing up a gamer, I don’t remember there being an ESRB. As a parent and well informed gamer, it’s easy for me to figure out what titles are... Growing up a gamer, I don’t remember there being an ESRB. As a parent and well informed gamer, it’s easy for me to figure out what titles are appropriate for my daughter to play, regardless of the ESRB rating. A coworker recently asked me a few questions on specific titles and I realized that the ESRB ratings are too vague.

For example: if Halo 3’s single player campaign were to be recorded and released as a movie, it would probably be rated PG or worse case scenario PG-13. I’ve played Halo 3 and ODST and both those games have a modest amount of graphic violence, I’m not sure I remember any foul language an zero sex or drug references. Gears of War 2 on the other hand, has graphic depictions of violence (exploding heads, curb stomps, etc.) and constant use of foul language. Both of these games have received an M-rating.

So how does a non-gamer parent figure out what’s appropriate for his/her kid? Well in the case of my co-worker, he simply will not buy any M-rated games for his kid. Other parents completely ignore the ESRB ratings altogether. Both options are a disservice to the gaming industry, the consumer and ultimately the gamer.

The industry would serve itself best by re-addressing the rating system and clarifying the ratings to better serve parents. Not only would this benefit sales, it would prevent the kind of public outcry that tends to follow the release of the more controversial titles (think Grand Theft Auto). My concern is that as gaming continues to venture into the mainstream pop culture, our governments will politicize the issue and we’ll start seeing pressure on developers and publishers which would result in stifling creativity and censorship of the media. ]]> javierdlopez http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?262-ESRB-Wtf http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?229-Top-30-Classic-Game-Tracks-02-Zelda-A-Link-to-the-Past-(SNES)-Dark-World-Theme Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:07:13 GMT The music in the Zelda series is often considered Koji Kondo's masterpiece and it continues to be a series highlight. From the epic Hyrule theme in the original game to the Twilight Princes trailer theme, the music in Zelda is always something to look forward to. A Zelda track was always going to make this list, but which one? Keeping this list pre 32/64-bit made the decision a bit easier; otherwise tracks like the Song of Healing and Dragon Roost Island would have been real contenders. The most obvious choice is the Hyrule theme, but the Zelda series has many other terrific tracks to consider besides the franchises iconic theme. In the end I decided to go with the Dark World theme from A Link to the Past. It’s not only a great track, but also manages to create a sense of foreboding upon entering the Dark World for the first time that beautifully contrasts the happier aural tones of the Light World.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgQaK7TGjX4 ]]> meu2 http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?229-Top-30-Classic-Game-Tracks-02-Zelda-A-Link-to-the-Past-(SNES)-Dark-World-Theme http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?224-Alan-Wake Fri, 06 Aug 2010 01:08:23 GMT A few months back I wrote about my experience with Heavy Rain demo. As it turns out the retail version wasn’t much better than the demo. I spent... A few months back I wrote about my experience with Heavy Rain demo. As it turns out the retail version wasn’t much better than the demo. I spent around 4 hours playing Heavy Rain and lost interest. I was a little apprehensive about dumping any “real” money into Alan Wake, since it seemed similar to Heavy Rain: Heavy on the story and light on the gaming. So I waited until there was a price drop and got my hands on Remedy’s Alan Wake for just over $35.

Alan Wake is a bestselling author who’s suffering a 3 year old case of writer’s block. The game begins with Alan and his wife Alice heading out to the rural lake town of Bright Falls for a vacation. Bright Falls is your stereotypical creepy small town where everyone knows everyone and everyone’s business. It doesn’t take long for Alan to figure out just how creepy Bright Falls really is. There is a dark presence that has invaded Bright Falls and it has targeted Alan and those around him for some unknown reason. I won’t go any further into plot details, since the story is such an important element to this game.

Alan Wake is a 3rd person action shooter first and foremost, but Remedy hit the ball out of the park in the way it tells its story. The cut scenes are somewhat frequent but short. Most of the story is told as a spoken narrative from Alan himself while you play the game and through the pages of a manuscript that you find along the way that Alan wrote himself, but does not remember writing. Although shooting is a prominent game play mechanic in this game, it’s the use of lighting and light itself as a weapon that makes this game stand out.

Besides the flashlight that Wake carries throughout the game, you fight off hordes of the forsaken with a revolver, shotgun or hunting rifle. You can use flares to slow down enemies or a flare gun or flash bangs to take out groups of them. Ammunition and supplies aren’t as plentiful as you’d hope, so there are times where you simply use your flash light to slow enemy assaults or use spotlights or brightly lit areas for cover. One of the few downsides to Alan Wake, is the limited amount of enemies, there’s 5 or 6 different enemy types besides possessed objects that will attack you from time to time.

It’s difficult trying to compare Alan Wake to games that are like it. It’s a Survival/Horror game but there is very little gore. Most of the “scares” are achieved through ambiance and foreshadowing. The developers go to great lengths to create ambiance. From the dark fog that rolls in just before hordes of the forsaken attack to the sound of a light bulb smashing just as you reach a well lit safe haven, the game does a great job at scaring the crap out of you. The soundtrack is as good if not better than Dead Space, which I consider the ultimate in gaming surround sound. Alan Wake is sort of like Left 4 Dead, but with an incredible story. Uncharted without the platforming or puzzle solving or Dead Space minus the Aliens, add possessed lumber jacks.

The game’s levels are laid out into 6 TV like episodes, complete with your typical “Last time on Alan Wake” trailer at the beginning of each episode and a cliffhanger and/or revelation at the end of every level. One of the more interesting Easter eggs in this game are the TVs. The TVs play Twilight Zone like mini shows that are pretty creepy, but extremely awesome. You’ll also find radios that help you figure out what’s going on around town as you play the game. The game itself is very linear for the most part. For me that’s perfect, since I felt the game progressed naturally and never felt that odd “What should I do next?” feeling. I was impressed as well with the music between episodes. The songs were written for the game and sort of narrate what is happening but they also sound great. I wonder if the soundtrack is available for purchase?

One of the bigger oddities was the insane amount of product placement ads going on in this game. Alan’s cell phone carrier is Verizon, the batteries you find to power your flashlight are Energizer, towards the beginning of the game, Microsoft chimes in by displaying a car radio with “Sync by Microsoft” on it, and Ford cars are prominently displayed throughout Bright Falls and you even find a TV or two that play commercials for Ford and Verizon.

Overall, Alan Wake is a must play for any 360 owner. The games presentation, story graphics and gameplay are all outstanding in my opinion. With that said, I’m glad I didn’t pay $60 for it. The game took me just under 12 hours to complete on Normal difficulty. I’d say the game is a buy at $39 and not a rental since a new copy gets you a code for an additional DLC episode that awaits you after you’ve finished the game at no additional cost. There’s supposed to be another DLC episode on the way, but I’m not sure if they’ll charge for that or not.
Simply put. I love this game. Best game this year for me. I enjoyed every second of it and basically played an episode per night over the last 6 nights to complete the game in under a week. Go get it!

]]> javierdlopez http://www.monroeworld.com/forums/entry.php?224-Alan-Wake